MyFarm – The National Trust’s innovative new project at Wimpole Home Farm
As you know, I’ve been interested in farming since the age of 9. Back then it was fantasy farming centred around my toy farm – the sprawling estate was located on a conveniently patterned carpet in my bedroom. I visited Wimpole Home Farm with Seraphina at Easter this year. Along with hundreds of others we saw day old lambs and teeny piglets – the latest progeny of the sheep and pigs that are being raised at Wimpole. We watched the shire horses, the long horned cattle and examined the old carts and ancient farming machinery in the...
read moreGilbert’s superb gooseberry gin recipe
It was Gilbert who introduced me to gooseberry gin. He produced a battered old hip flask out of a hidden pocket in his fatigues. We were foraging for wild cherry plums and were resting on a mossy bank. Gilbert opened the stopper with a flourish. “I bet that you haven’t tasted this delicacy before.” One sip and I was hooked and eager to make my own. I even had an old inherited hip flask knocking about the cottage somewhere. This particular brew was made from red dessert gooseberries. These berries are far less tart than the green ones...
read moreUpdate on the elderflower vodka
I had a sip or two of our elderflower vodka a couple of days ago. The flavour has improved and mellowed a bit. Unlike TCL’s – it’s drinkable – just. It has good notes when you open the bottle and sniff but the waft promises loads more than the grog actually presents. There is no trace of that early summer elderflower cordial zing. It might be the sort of shot that you’d be given to settle your metabolism and clean the blood. Faintly herbal, this elderflower vodka will never shine as a star in our cellar. We have three litres of...
read moreStarting an allotment from scratch
I was dropping Danny off at the station when we saw the sign. “Allotments for Rent”. On the way back home I stopped and had a potter through the allotment site. A woman and her small daughter were watering their crops. Absorbed in their tasks in the sultry afternoon sun. The air was filled with birdsong deadening the whoosh of passing traffic. Magic. I’d assumed that there was a long waiting list for allotments in our local town. Danny has been keen to start a new outdoor veg growing project for a while now and this seemed like a good...
read moreSimple, delicious spaghetti recipe: with a ham, dill and cream sauce
Some of the best recipes are not written down. These recipes are so good that they allow for flexibility and still taste delicious. I overheard this recipe at a party. “We were walking in the mountains and my friend gathered some wild dill.” My ears clicked into overdrive. “Back home, she cooked some spaghetti. Chopped up the dill and a little ham. Added these and some cream to the spaghetti. Heaven.” This recipe saved my blushes many years ago. I’d invited Danny to stay at the cottage for the first time. I’d invited some old...
read moreThe lost chick
Recently I was looking after TCL’s smallholding for a couple of weeks. Here there are chickens, ducks, loads of fish, a rabbit and a cat. And of course those horrible worm eating turtles that S loves. The other pets are collected by S’s mum and holiday by the seaside in Suffolk. As you know TCL lives in a beautiful spot, on the edge of the village boundary. The garden looks over a large paddock – filled with mares and foals at the moment. The broad range of chickens includes beautiful Sumatra chickens. These chickens are not good...
read moreMinding My Peas and Cucumbers: Quirky Tales of Allotment Life
I’ve often wondered what it’s actually like to have an allotment. Is it social and companionable? Competitive or relaxed? I suppose that every allotment site, like all disparate communities, has their own individual characteristics and quirks. So I was delighted to receive a copy of Minding My Peas and Cucumbers: Quirky Tales of Allotment Life by Kay Sexton. This brilliant book opens the lid on the allotmenteering experience. Tempting recipes and valuable tips are thrown into the mix – providing a more down to earth chorus to balance...
read moreUpdate on the first Cottage Smallholder party – Saturday, July 23rd 2011
It’s just three weeks to go until our first Cottage Smallholder annual get together. We’re very excited by the prospect of meeting you and putting faces to the names. Years ago we used to throw a lot of parties. Big affairs that started with lunch and went through the night til dawn. We had a larger lawn and much more energy back then. Someone always fell in the pond. Sometimes there was live music but generally old favourites warbled from the open Velux window in The Rat Room. Fearing that not many people would actually show up to our...
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